DESCRIPTION (Taken from the application) GRASP Center was formed in 1984 and over the years has evolved to promote basic research devoted to improved understanding of digestive diseases. The major research areas include 1) mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis in the GI tract; 2) molecular biology of gastrointestinal development and differentiation; 3) receptor biology and signaling, and 4) bile pigment excretion and hepatobiliary transport. The biomedical research base lists 36 principal investigators as active members of the GRASP center. These investigators come from various departments of the two main institutions: 1) Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and 2) New England Medical Center Hospital (NEMCH). Other institutions represented include Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Human Nutrition Research Center (HNRC) on Aging. Approximately 50% of the members are M.D. scientists and the remainder is either Ph.D. scientists or M.D., Ph.D. scientists. The active member criteria include that the investigators have independent federal research funding or its equivalent and are involved in doing research relevant to digestive diseases. Out of the 36 investigators, 10 are affiliated with the Department of Physiology, 8 with Pediatric and Adult Gastroenterology, 5 with Molecular Biology and Microbiology, 3 with Endocrinology, 3 with Geographic Medicine/Infectious Diseases, 2 with Biochemistry, 2 with Pathology and 1 each with Nephrology, HNRC and Rheumatology. The group has been shown to have close collaborative ties. The combined direct costs for the current year research funding have been shown to be $10,482,189. Out of which about 96% appears to be from NIH and 36% is funded by NIDDK (digestive diseases related). During the previous cycle, the GRASP investigators have published 129 full-length research papers in peer reviewed journals and GRASP has been acknowledged in about 83% of these publications.